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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Delicious! - Ruth Reichl

Make sure you read to the end of the post today! I'm giving away a copy of Ruth Reichl's debut novel!

When I was in Florida last month, I knew I was going to need some good beach reads. After all, no one wants to read James Joyce while relaxing in the sun. It just doesn't fit.

Thankfully, I had just gotten my copy of Ruth Reichl's debut novel, Delicious!, in the mail from TLC Book Tours. It seemed like a good option, so into the bag it went for a little trip to West Palm Beach.

I have had Reichl's first memoir, Tender at the Bone, On Reserve for ages. It's one of those food memoirs that I simple have not gotten around to yet. I have a lot of them on my list and you have to spread these things out, you know!

When TLC offered me a chance to read Reichl's first fiction work, I knew I could not pass up the opportunity. It seemed like a great way to get an introduction to Reichl's work.

The novel centers around a young woman, Billie Breslin, working in New York City. She lands a job at Delicious!, a food magazine, as an assistant. Her new colleagues and friends all love food and the book is rife with descriptions of tasty treats. Billie, however, is holding her personal history and abilities close to the chest. She has incredible talent, but personal tragedy holds her back from fully realizing it.

As happened with real-life food magazine, Gourmet, of which Reichl was editor for ten years, the fictional Delicious! is forced to close its doors. When this happens, Billie is the only staff member kept on. Her discoveries in the old magazine library set her off on an adventure created decades previously.

I found the book to be fun and engaging. It is no literary masterpiece, but it is delightfully charming. Reichl throws in some romance for us beach readers, but I appreciated that finding love was not Billie's end goal. It just seemed to be a happy side story.

It's a great read for food lovers like I am. It definitely made me realize that I need to bump Reichl's memoirs up a little higher on my list. If this is her fiction work, I look forward to getting my hands on her nonfiction.

Don't miss your chance to win a copy of Delicious! this week! Make sure you enter through the Rafflecopter widget below. You can enter every day this week and I'll announce the winner on Facebook next week. Good luck!

Pages: 400

Date Completed: April 16, 2014

*To read others' thoughts on Delicious!, check out the full tour schedule.*